After thirty years and hundreds of thousands of visitors, Bethlehem A.D.—Redwood City’s beloved living nativity scene—is closing down.
On Wednesday, Bethlehem A.D. held the first of its final three shows.
“It’s just been so amazing to see it develop, to see new storylines that we were able to get from history,” said Creative Director Paulin Dresden.
Dresden, who’s run the show since the beginning, remembers the first year, which she described as “pretty rough.”
“We didn’t have a music score. The angels were just sort of floundering around,” she said. And yet, with a small manger and a few animals, the event was a hit.
“Thousands of people came. We couldn’t believe it,” she said. “And it’s been like that ever since.”
According to Dresden, roughly 25,000 people come out every year to walk through the space, a “living re-creation of the village of Bethlehem on the night of the first Christmas,” as the website describes it. Visitors to Bethlehem A.D., which pops up annually in a lot across the street from Rise City Church, can observe costumed townspeople throwing pottery, selling items in the marketplace, discussing scripture at the synagogue and herding live camels and other animals through the village.
Putting on the event is a significant lift for all involved. Though the official kick-off is in early October, Dresden starts planning in May. All told, she said, nearly 500 people are involved in bringing Bethlehem A.D. to life—from the construction crew to the seamstresses to the hundreds of actors themselves. And the price is steep: $40,000 to $50,000 per year, all privately funded.
Still, she said, all the work is worth it when the town comes alive each year.
“When all the people come out, it’s just magical,” she said.
Ultimately the decision to shut down was out of Dresden’s hands. A fire several years ago caused extensive damage to the adjacent church. To gather the funds to rebuild, the church decided to sell the lot where Bethlehem A.D. operates.
After three decades, Dresden described the ending as bittersweet.
“Of course I’m going to miss it, but it’s going to be nice to branch out into other areas,” she said. Though “totally willing to be a consultant,” she said she was relieved not to “carry the burden anymore. It’s a lot.”
Will Bethlehem A.D. be back? That is yet to be determined,
“People have been approaching me, so we’ll see what happens in the new year,” Dresden said. “But at the moment I don’t have any plans.”
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The show continues tonight through Friday, Dec. 23, between 6 to 9:30 p.m. The free event will be recreating the town of Bethlehem for attendees to explore and experience.
Attendees of the event will have the opportunity to take in the many familiar sights of the recreated nativity scene, including Roman soldiers, a variety of animals, shepherds, angels, a market scene and, of course, the main attraction of the nativity — Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.
The Bethlehem A.D. event will be taking place at 1300 Middlefield Road. Free parking for the event will be available at the Kaiser Permanente Center parking structure, with shuttles to and from the event running from 5:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.
In addition, for individuals that are physically challenged, the event will also be offering golf cart tours of the nativity scene brought to life. The golf cart tours will be running from the parking lot at Rise City Church to the event.
For those who cannot attend the event but would still like to check it out, a virtual walk-through video can be found on the event's website.
